Radiation effects from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the worst nuclear incident in 25 years, displaced 50,000 households after radioactive material leaked into the air, soil and sea.[1] Radiation checks led to bans on some shipments of vegetables and fish.[2]
Map of contaminated areas around the plant (22 March – 3 April).
Map of detected radioactivity as of April 2011
Map of detected radioactivity as of March 2012
Fukushima dose rate comparison to other incidents and standards, with graph of recorded radiation levels and specific accident events from 11 to 30 March in 2011.
Maximum radiation level at Fukushima in comparison to a range of situations, from normal activities up to the Chernobyl reactor accident. Each step up the scale indicates a tenfold increase in radiation level.
Radiation hotspot in Kashiwa, February 2012.

The radiation effects from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster are the observed and predicted effects as a result of the release of radioactive isotopes from the Fukushima Daiichii Nuclear Power Plant following the 2011 Tōhoku 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami (Great East Japan Earthquake and the resultant tsunami).[3][4] The release of radioactive isotopes from reactor containment vessels was a result of venting in order to reduce gaseous pressure, and the discharge of coolant water into the sea.[5] This resulted in Japanese authorities implementing a 30-km exclusion zone around the power plant and the continued displacement of approximately 156,000 people as of early 2013.[4][6] The number of evacuees has declined to 49,492 as of March 2018.[7] Radioactive particles from the incident, including iodine-131 and caesium-134/137, have since been detected at atmospheric radionuclide sampling stations around the world, including in California and the Pacific Ocean.[8][9][10]

Preliminary dose-estimation reports by WHO and the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) indicate that, outside the geographical areas most affected by radiation, even in locations within Fukushima prefecture, the predicted risks remain low and no observable increases in cancer above natural variation in baseline rates are anticipated.[11] In comparison, after the Chernobyl reactor accident, only 0.1% of the 110,000 cleanup workers surveyed have so far developed leukemia, although not all cases resulted from the accident.[12][13][14] However, 167 Fukushima plant workers received radiation doses that slightly elevate their risk of developing cancer.[13][15][16] Estimated effective doses from the accident outside of Japan are considered to be below, or far below the dose levels regarded as very small by the international radiological protection community.[17] The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation is expected to release a final report on the effects of radiation exposure from the accident by the end of 2013.[16]

A June 2012 Stanford University study estimated, using a linear no-threshold model, that the radioactivity release from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant could cause 130 deaths from cancer globally (the lower bound for the estimate being 15 and the upper bound 1100) and 199 cancer cases in total (the lower bound being 24 and the upper bound 1800), most of which are estimated to occur in Japan. Radiation exposure to workers at the plant was projected to result in 2 to 12 deaths.[18] However, a December 2012 UNSCEAR statement to the Fukushima Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety advised that "because of the great uncertainties in risk estimates at very low doses, UNSCEAR does not recommend multiplying very low doses by large numbers of individuals to estimate numbers of radiation-induced health effects within a population exposed to incremental doses at levels equivalent to or lower than natural background levels."[19]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fukushima Retiree Leads Anti-Nuclear Shareholders at Tepco Annual Meeting was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Japan anti-nuclear protesters rally after PM call to close plant was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Kumagai, Atsushi; Tanigawa, Koichi (2018). "Current Status of the Fukushima Health Management Survey". Radiation Protection Dosimetry. 182 (1): 31–39. doi:10.1093/rpd/ncy138. PMC 6280984. PMID 30169872.
  4. ^ a b Maeda, Masaharu; Oe, Misari; Bromet, Evelyn; Yasumura, Seiji; Ohto, Hitoshi (2016). "Fukushima, mental health and suicide". Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 70 (9): 843–844. doi:10.1136/jech-2015-207086. PMID 26962203. S2CID 31302204.
  5. ^ Sato, Akiko (2018). "Diversity of Concerns in Recovery after a Nuclear Accident: A Perspective from Fukushima". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 15 (2): 350. doi:10.3390/ijerph15020350. PMC 5858419. PMID 29462905.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fukushima: Fallout of fear was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Transition of evacuation designated zones - Fukushima Revitalization Information Portal Website". www.pref.fukushima.lg.jp. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference newscientist.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference usatoday was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference seattletimes.nwsource.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ WHO 2013, p. 8.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Zablotska was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Brumfiel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cardis et al. 2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference who.int was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference unis.unvienna.org was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference who42 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference stanford was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference UNSCEAR statement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).